The Assistant
by myrmidryad
Summary: Jack needs an assistant. That pretty much sums it up. Jack/OC, on permanent hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

Hiya! Thought I'de do a Xiaolin Shodown fic, since I love that show and I'm in love with Jack Spicer!

**Disclaimer: I unfortunatly don't own Xiaolin Showdown. **

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"Wuya! Pass me that spanner!"

"Jack, I think you're forgetting something."

"No, the spanner is defiantly there…"

"I'M A FLOATING TRANSPARANT GHOST YOU IDIOT!!!"

Jack Spicer, evil boy genius, crawled out from under his air ship and scowled at Wuya, 1500 year old evil Heylin ghosty.

"Jack," growled Wuya, "You should be practising with the shen gong wu! Not tinkering about with your pathetic robots!"

"Ok first of all," Said Jack, squaring up to Wuya, "I already know how to use the shen gong wu, second of all Points at air ship, DOES THIS LOOK LIKE A ROBOT TO YOU?!? And third of all…" His shoulders slumped, "I need an assistant." He walked out of the room.

"Jaaack," Said Wuya in an enticing voice, "What do you need an assistant for? Can't you just use those brainless robots of yours?"

"In your words," Replied Jack, still walking, "Brainless. They can't tell the difference between a hammer and a chainsaw. I need someone with brains."

Wuya grumbled as Jack sent one of his robots to fetch him a drink.

"What would this 'assistant' do when we're out hunting for shen gong wu?" Asked Wuya grumpily.

"I dunno." Said Jack, sipping the drink the robot had brought him. He sat up suddenly, an excited expression on his face.

"Hey," He said, turning to Wuya, "I know! He can help us! I mean, it's never a fair fight against the Xiaolin losers 'cos there're four of them and only one of me, but with an assistant to help _and_ the Jack-Bots, we'll have a better chance of getting the shen gong wu than ever!"

Wuya considered this for a moment, the idea running through her 1500 year old brain.

"Fine." She said, "Just make sure you get someone good! Not some brainless oaf like Tubbimora or Vlad!"

Jack smiled. He gave his empty glass to the waiting robot and went to his computer to draft an advertisement for an assistant.

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Not bad? Good? Awful? Please tell me! REVIEW!


	2. Chapter 2

Hah! Didn't think I'd update so soon did you? Well I proved you wrong! Anyway, ON WITH THE FIC!!!! Oh, by the way, keep in mind that in the ad, Jack didn't say anything about Wuya, the Xiaolin dragons or shen gong wu. Kay? Kay. Anyway, ON WITH THE FIC!!!! (For real this time!)

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"Next!"

Jack massaged his forehead. He had seen over twenty people and none of them knew the first thing about his advanced robo-technology. He sighed loudly as he heard footsteps coming towards the interview room. He just knew whoever it was was bound to be another disappointment.

"Um, hi, I'm answering the ad for the assistant?"

Jack looked up in surprise. It was a girl! And his own age no less! He realised he was staring, so he surprised himself by standing and offering his hand to shake.

"Hi," She said awkwardly, "I'm Tala." She was wearing a plain black fleece with a plain black t-shirt underneath and well worn jeans. She had what looked like to be black hair but at closer inspection turned out to be very dark brown. It was long and kept up in a high ponytail.

"Um, Tala huh?" Said Jack, sitting down again, "Sounds foreign."

"It is." Said Tala, sitting down opposite, "It's Native American for wolf." **(It is-I checked)**

"So Tala," Jack looked at the papers scattered across his desk and picked one up at random. Glancing at the question written on it, he asked "Um, why do you think you'd be a good techno assistant?"

Half and hour passed with Jack asking questions (mostly about machinery) and Tala answering all of them without missing a beat.

By the end of the interview, Jack was convinced she was perfect. There was just the matter of the offered room to be cleared up (In the advertisement he had included the offer of a free room/flat with the job, in case of 'late shifts', aka, a shen gong wu turning up in the middle of the night).

"So will you be taking the room or not?" Asked Jack politely.

Tala nodded sheepishly, then asked quickly, "Do free meals come with it? Or will I have to order take outs?"

"Take outs." Replied Jack instantly. He couldn't afford to pay labour _and _extra meals.

Tala shrugged, "Fine." She said breezily.

"JACK!" Jack sweat dropped – it was Wuya!

"Ah! I might have forgotten to mention…"

Wuya came through the wall. Tala screamed at the same time Jack tried to grab Wuya and failed, knocking Tala over.

In the confusion, a doorbell rang upstairs. Jack's head shot up. "Crud!" He yelled.

"What's wrong?" Asked Tala, getting to her feet and brushing herself off, eyeing Wuya suspiciously.

Jack was panicking. "My parents are home!" He screamed, eyes bugging out of his head. He pushed Tala towards the door to his workshop. "Hide!" He hissed desperately.

Two shadows appeared on the wall opposite them. Tala looked at Jack's face and ran through the door, closing it quietly behind her.

Once in the workshop she looked around for a place to hide. She saw a skateboard half under a partly built rocket ship. If she hadn't been so rushed Tala would have whistled in appreciation. She was impressed.

She heard the door opening, _oh crud! Hide! _She thought desperately, sliding under the rocket on the skateboard.

She tried to stay as quiet as possible as the footsteps came closer and closer to her hiding place.

"_This _is what you do with your time boy?" A male voice, thick with disdain.

"Now, now dear," A female voice, a little hesitant, "I'm sure all this has a purpose. What does this do-"

"No Mom!" Jack, "Don't touch that!" A flash of light, a crackle of electricity and a woman's cry of pain and annoyance.

"Now look what you've done boy!" The male voice again.

"It wasn't my fault," Jack sounded like he was pleading, "I tried to warn her-"

"SILENCE!" The male voice again, "How dare you argue with me!" A thump, and Tala saw Jack's body hit the floor about a yard away.

"Yes sir." Jack was whispering now.

"You see you don't forget it!" A booted foot kicked Jack before turning smartly and walking away, though not fast enough that his passing remark wasn't heard; "Brat!"

Tala was frozen. She didn't know what to do. Jack sniffed. She crawled out.

As she stood up, so did Jack, his back turned to her. He walked away. She followed.

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So? What you think? I never originally planned for the violence. It just came out


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry it's taken me so long to update, I've been very busy. I'll try to update more often, I promise!

"So, what do you want me to do?"

Jack turned around in surprise. She wasn't going to ask about his family?

Tala smiled nervously under Jack's scrutinising gaze, his red eyes really were very cool…

"You see that rocket ship back there?" Asked Jack suddenly. Tala nodded. "Well," He continued, "I need to make some improvements on it, and you're gonna help me. Kay?"

Tala smiled and nodded again, as her ears twitched. Jack did a double take. He blinked and pointed at her ears, stuttering like an idiot.

"Your ears!" He exclaimed, "They just moved! I saw them! I just saw your ears move!"

"Hah, yeah, they do that sometimes," Tala grinned and shrugged, embarrassed.

"How do they do that?" Asked Jack, circling Tala, watching her ears for signs of further movement.

"They just do," Said Tala, her head turning to follow Jack. "They always have. A teacher once said that it was because I was under-evolved." She rolled her eyes and walked towards the rocket ship, flicking her hair in Jack's face disdainfully, softening the effect with a cheeky grin over her shoulder.

Jack blushed, hiding it as he dived ahead of her and skidded under the ship on his skateboard.

For the next hour and a half, Jack and Tala worked solidly on the ship, working on the engine, inside space, and missiles that could be shot from the rear. When they stopped, it was around 10 PM.

Jack threw a greasy cloth over his shoulder and surveyed the ship critically. "Really ought to take it for a test run," He muttered to himself as Tala crawled out from under the ship and stretched her stiffening back muscles.

She came to stand next to him and looked at their handiwork equally critically, if not more so.

"You know," She said, turning to Jack, "Those engine upgrades we installed will have to be modified."

Jack looked at her and raised his eyebrows. "And why would that be?" He asked moodily.

Tala walked up to the ship and patted it fondly, "Because," She said, "The new engine will give it speed but not manoeuvrability. If you want to avoid small shots, it'll be too big and heavy to move out of the way quickly enough." She looked it over thoughtfully, "And it needs to be more streamlined for its future paint job to do it credit."

Jack's head was spinning, "New paint job?" He managed to get out.

"Uh huh," Said Tala, checking the body of the ship for scratches, "I mean," She laughed, turning around, "You can't be an evil boy genius without a decent paint job can you?"

Jack shook his head, in a daze. "Hey wait a minute," He said, narrowing his eyes, "Did I tell you I was an evil boy genius?"

Tala's eyes widened and she sweat-dropped. _Damn!_ She thought desperately, _what do I say? Wait, wasn't my new policy to tell the truth?_ She looked at Jack, his arms were folded and he was tapping his foot, waiting for an answer.

Tala's shoulders slumped and she bit her lip. "Well," She said, "I have a slight tendency to sneak around a bit, and well, there was this little card poking out of your pocket, so I kinda, sorta, well, took it."

Jack nodded once and swiftly checked his pockets. His business card was gone. _Damn,_ He thought, _she is good. _He looked up at Tala. Her teeth were bared in a nervous grin and her hands were behind her back. He could tell without looking that her fingers were crossed.

"Hmmm," Jack glared at Tala, "You know I should fire you on basis of theft, but…"

"But you won't," Said Tala, "'Cos I'm the best assistant you'll ever get, and you know it." She was standing up straight now, assured of her position.

Jack growled. She was right, curse her; she _was_ the best assistant he'd ever get, and more. She was going to give the rocket ship a new paint job for crying out loud! He couldn't just give up someone like that!

"So where do you keep the paint?"

Jack looked up. Tala smirked at him. He muttered moodily and pointed to a cupboard to her right. She saluted him as she got the paint out and began to add some water to it to loosen it up.

As she worked, she would get Jack to pass her paint cans or brushes as she worked. Jack had to admit, she was good at her job. The red and black streaks, lined with silver really did look professional compared to the old goldish-brown paint with red tinted windows (he had painted it the same colours after Wuya's rock monsters had destroyed it).

As Tala was painting, she asked Jack about the business card. Jack ended up telling her all about the Xiaolin Dragons, the Shen Gong Wu and the Xiaolin Showdowns. To his surprise she took it all very well.

"So, what do I do when you're out getting Shen Gong Wu?" She asked calmly.

Jack crossed his fingers. "Well," He said, hope in his voice, "We, that is, me and Wuya, were kinda hopin' you'd be able to help us with that." He risked a look at Tala as she thought about his offer.

"OK." She said finally, smiling at Jack's astonished face.

"You don't mind?" Asked Jack, obviously puzzled.

"Mind what?" Asked Tala.

"Working on the evil side of things," Said Jack, "I mean, girls usually have morals right?"

Tala grinned wickedly. "Not me!" She declared, in a satisfied voice, "Morals get in the way of more important things. Like food and paying the rent."

"Well in that case!" Jack was ecstatic, "Welcome to the dark side!"


	4. Chapter 4

I was so happy with the reviews I got, I decided to update straight away!

Kimiko, Raimundo, Clay and Omi were training in the temple yard.

"Fellow warriors!" Cried Omi, "Prepare yourselves for a most humiliating defeat!"

"Oh yeah?" Retorted Kimiko, "We'll see who's talking after I kick your butt!"

"Yeah?" Yelled Raimundo, shifting into attack position, "Right after _I _kick _all _your butts!"

"We'll just have to see about that partner!" Clay held his hands up in front of his face defensively.

The Xiaolin Dragons looked from one to the other, mentally probing for the weakest link.

Just then, Dojo shot around the corner at top speed. "We got a hot new Shen Gong Wu alert everybody!" He yelled.

Omi shook his head, disappointed. "But I was just about to kick the butt of Kimiko and triumph over her puny girl muscles!" He said, walking over to Dojo.

Kimiko's eyes spat flame and she grabbed the front of Omi's robe. "You wanna rethink that sentence Crome-Dome?" She growled threateningly.

"Not now kids!" Exclaimed Dojo impatiently. He opened the sacred scroll and the Dragons crowded around.

"The Paw of Yang is a complicated Wu," Explained Dojo, "Responds to your inner animal. If you can control your thoughts and have inner focus and serenity, you can control the Wu. If not, it turns you into a creature of instincts and base emotions. Few people can control this thing." He went on with trepidation, "Even Grand Master Dashi could rarely control it, and he only used it in extreme emergencies. It's one of the most dangerous Shen Gong Wu there is."

The four young Dragons looked at each other worriedly; if this Shen Gong Wu was this bad, what would happen if someone like Chase Young, Wuya or Jack Spicer got there first?

"Come on Dojo," Said Kimiko determinedly, "We can't let anyone else get their hands on it now that we know how dangerous it is!"

Dojo transformed and they set off – for the Paw of Lang.

"JACK!"

"WHAT?"

"I SENSE A NEW SHEN GONG WU!"

"I'LL BE RIGHT THERE!"

"JACK! THIS IS THE PAW OF LANG! THIS CANNOT WAIT!"

Jack sighed angrily. A new Shen Gong Wu. Great. He shrugged and went to find Tala. She should be there for her first Shen Gong Wu.

He found her by the rocket ship, ready to go, with Wuya hovering beside her. The two had really hit it off after the initial period of distrust.

"Hurry up Jack!" Grinned Tala, jumping into the cockpit.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Grumbled Jack as he clambered in after her and initiated the launch sequence.

Ten minutes later, the rocket ship was soaring gracefully over the Yangtze River in China. Tala initiated the landing sequence and as they circled the top of a nearby hill, she asked Wuya about the Paw of Lang.

As Wuya explained, Jack noticed a frown on Tala's face. "What's up?" He asked.

Tala looked up and smiled. "Nothing serious," She said, "Just trying to remember what the word 'lang' means, that's all."

Jack nodded and typed something into the computer database. He read for a few seconds before looking up at Tala with satisfaction. "Lang," He said, "Is the Chinese word for wolf. The same as your name right?"

"Right!" Laughed Tala as they landed.

They parked the ship behind some trees.

"You stay here for a second," Said Jack, walking into the trees in front to look for the Shen Gong Wu.

"Right," Muttered Tala, rolling her eyes. "I'll just wait here then shall I?"

Jack wandered through the trees into a wide clearing. He looked around and listened closely. Not far away he could hear voices. _Damn!_ He thought, _The Xiaolin Losers got here first!_

Suddenly, out on the grass, something began to glow. Jack could have danced for joy! The Wu had fallen right into his lap! He ran into the clearing, making a beeline for the glowing Paw of Lang.

Suddenly-"Big Bang Meteorang!"

Jack screamed and threw himself to the ground to avoid being shredded.

Rai laughed and pushed Clay out of the way. "My turn!" He declared, unsheathing his sword.

"Crest of the Condor Blade of the Nebular!" He yelled, pointing the blade in Jack's direction.

Jack pulled himself to his feet to find himself knocked backwards through the trees by a powerful blast of wind. He came to a stop right in front of Tala, who looked down at him with one eyebrow raised.

A voice floated through the trees; "Arrow Sparrow!"

Jack's eyes widened in horror and he leapt to his feet and pulled Tala out of the way of the jets of flame that suddenly poured through the bush.

Tala was in shock. "What was that?" She managed to get out.

"Arrow Sparrow," Panted Jack, "Kimiko's thing, remember?"

"Arrow Sparrow!" Was heard again over the snapping crackle of burning bush.

Tala felt herself being pulled to the ground.

"Get down!" Snarled Jack, covering her body with his as he activated the shield device on his backpack.

Tala's eyes screwed shut as she saw the flames lick around them, yet she felt…nothing. Apart from a light heat on her face, she couldn't feel anything at all.

As the fire died down, Jack deactivated the shield device. As he did, a wave of blasting hot air hit them, making Tala gasp beneath him. Jack got to his feet and brushed himself off. He looked down and saw Tala was still on the ground, panting as if she'd run a marathon.

He shuffled his feet, and offered his hand. She looked up in surprise, and then grabbed it. He pulled, and she, underestimating his strength, was pulled right up to his face.

They stayed like that for a few seconds, foreheads resting, noses and mouths less than inches away from each other, clasping oneanothers hands like nothing else mattered…

Then the moment ended and they both drew apart, blushing and muttering to themselves.

"We'd better um, get the Shen Gong Wu, then, right?" Muttered Tala, her face flushed.

"Yeah," Jack hastily agreed, still very much embarrassed himself.

They ran into what was left of the smouldering bushes and into the untouched clearing.

"Come back for more have ya?" Mocked Kimiko; none of the Dragons had seen Tala yet.

"Come on now Kimiko," Said Raimundo, hanging his head, as if in remorse. He looked up suddenly, a glint of mischief in his eye, "It's not like Jack has any friends to back him up!"

"Nope!" Laughed Clay in his Texan accent, "Jack's so annoying he couldn't get a friend if he tried!"

"Most certainly," Chuckled Omi, "That must be the reason why Jack builds so many robots! Because no real person would tolerate him!" He rolled on the floor, consumed by laughter.

Tala watched from the cover of the scorched tree line and her hands balled into fists. What would they know!? They had no idea of what Jack was capable of! They had no idea of the time and dedication he poured into his robots! Or of the rejection he suffered from his parents! What right did they have to judge him!?

Raimundo pointed his finger at Jack, still standing in the middle of the clearing, face impassive. "At least we're a team!" He snorted, "You're all on your own!"

"Awww!" Pouted Kimiko, "Poor Jack, all alone with no one else!" The Dragons giggled, they loved making fun of Jack! He was such an easy target!

Suddenly they fell silent. Jack felt a hand on his shoulder.

"He has me." Declared Tala, glaring at the Dragons, radiating hatetread and disgust.

She suddenly ran down the hill towards them, eyes fixed on something in the grass. Clay saw what she was doing and grabbed the Paw of Lang at the same time as Tala.

"Friend of Jack Spicer," He yelled, "I challenge you to a Xiaolin Showdown!"

"The name's Tala!" Spat Tala, "And I accept! Name the game cowboy!"

"The game is Xiaolin runners!" Shouted Clay. "The first one to grab the Paw of Lang wins!"

"Perfect." Purred Tala and Clay detected something dangerous in her voice as she accepted.

A bolt of lightning shot down from the blue, and the ground began to shudder and crack. Everyone was lifted into the sky on chunks of rock.

In front of Tala and Clay, lay two narrow paths of rock, that twisted and curved over and below each other before coming to a halt at an alter, on which the glowing Paw of Lang shone like a beacon.

Clay glared at Tala and they shouted together, "Gong Ye Tampai!"

Clay ran as fast as he could. The path seemed to stretch out in front of him forever, and he was soon puffing and panting.

Tala ran at a fast pace, but didn't sprint. Her breath came at a steady rate in short, fast bursts, and she knew that she could keep up this pace for an hour at least, while the cowboy was already tiring.

_Still,_ She smirked to herself, _No harm in letting my inner wolf take over._ Tala's eyes sparked, and as she looked at Clay, puffing beside her, she saw red, and felt an old, primeval feeling wake within her; the joy of the hunt!

She let Clay run ahead, staring at his broad back, and calculating.

For the spectators, it was a shock when Tala suddenly leapt at Clay, teeth bared in an adrenaline-fuelled grin exhileration.

Clay, who by now was realising he should have never challenged the girl to a race, was terrified when he felt sharp nails, more like claws, digging into his back, and razor-like teeth scrabbling for a firm purchase on his neck.

In his fright, he veered off-course, and with nothing to stop him, tumbled with a cry over the edge of the rock path. Tala, leaping off at the last moment, snarled with joy at his falling body.

As her head snapped up, she saw a strange glow on an alter ahead, and felt compelled to run towards it. Her hair came undone, and streamed out behind her. She had discarded her sandals at the beginning of the race, and with her dirt-streaked bare feet, Tala looked like something out of a fairy-tale, some sort of ancient creature that could kill or cure at a whim.

As she ran, she looked strangely magnificent, head uplifted, pure exhilaration written clearly on her pale face. As she reached the Paw of Lang, the Xiaolin Showdown ended, and Jack grabbed her and activated his Heli-bot, laughing his rehearsed evil laugh as they sped away.

"Well I'll be a polar bear in the Sahara dessert," Exclaimed Clay as he picked himself off the ground, "That girl is one heck of an animal!"

"We don't even know who she is!" Kimiko turned to Raimundo. "All we know is her name – Tala."

Omi gazed sadly at the retreating figures of Jack Spicer and Tala, and predicted grave trouble in the future.

So, you like? Reviews please!


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